Kerala polls: Cong sets 100-seat target for UDF as high command cracks the whip

The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, set a target of 100 seats for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the state elections next year, with the Congress aiming to secure around 65, as he presented a roadmap for the polls to the Congress top brass in Delhi on Friday (February 28).

The ambitious target Satheesan set for the 140-seat Kerala Assembly is reportedly based on a survey conducted by an external agency—an initiative that had previously faced severe criticism in a KPCC leadership meeting.

Satheesan out of CM race?

During the meeting, Satheesan also stated that he would be willing to step away from the chief ministerial race, remarking that there were “more than one in this room” who aspired to take the position, sources told The Federal.

While state Congress leaders have not ruled out a change in leadership of the Kerala unit, the issue was reportedly not discussed at the meeting. It was one of the two simmering issues the high command sought to put a lid on, at least for now.

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Both Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi insisted that the immediate task before the party was to “put up a united front” and “focus on strengthening the party for the elections” due next year.

Another goof-up

The other major diktat to leaders of the party’s Kerala unit that came from the Congress high command on Friday was to avoid airing before the media “personal views” that diverge from the official party line. They were warned that “strong action” would be taken against them if they violated the diktat.

Funnily enough, close on the heels of this order, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran made another goof-up during his brief interaction with the media. He declared that the UDF would “snatch” power at any cost, a remark that quickly invited widespread trolling on social media.

Tharoor controversy

The lashing from the central leadership came days after the Congress was scorched by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s praise of Kerala’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

Adding to the party’s woes were Tharoor’s subsequent comments in a podcast for The Indian Express that seemed to undermine his party colleagues in the southern state, while hinting that he could explore “other options” beyond the Congress.

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Tharoor’s comments in the podcast were later found to have been misreported.

No candid views

A leader present at the meeting told The Federal that the high command was satisfied with Tharoor’s explanation of his “controversial” comments as a case of “misrepresentation” and “irresponsible journalism” and sought to quiet the row that has unsettled the party.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP was, however, pointedly told to steer clear of going to the press with his candid personal views on political matters.

Eye on 2026 polls

Kharge and Rahul had summoned their colleagues from Kerala to discuss organisational matters and the Congress’s preparedness for next year’s assembly polls.

Apart from Tharoor, Satheesan, and Sudhakaran, the other leaders present at the meeting were AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, the party’s Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunsi, and party veteran Ramesh Chennithala, among others.

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Lack of discipline

Sources said Kharge and Rahul minced no words about the lack of intra-party discipline while making it clear that, henceforth, leaders “speaking out of turn” and in breach of the official party line on political matters will “face strong action”.

Rahul is also said to have hinted that factionalism within the Kerala unit was a factor in the party losing the last assembly polls and that the same mistakes should not be repeated this time.

Lid on leadership issue

A senior party functionary, however, told The Federal that the message of working under a “collective leadership” that the high command directed the Kerala leaders to convey to the media following the meeting “does not necessarily mean that Sudhakaran will continue as KPCC president till the assembly elections”.

“Some leaders did bring up the leadership issue but it was not discussed because everyone was told at the outset that the meeting is to only discuss preparedness for the upcoming local body elections and the assembly polls... if a change (of leadership) is to be done, the high command will discuss it separately and take a call,” the party functionary said.

Also read: Kerala: Congress on thin ice as Shashi Tharoor breaks free

Focus for polls

Sources said both Rahul and Priyanka underscored the need to “expose the failures” of the ruling LDF government in Kerala while “countering the communal agenda of the BJP”, especially in areas where the saffron party appears to be making inroads.

The Gandhi siblings, it is learnt, also pushed for “identifying dedicated and committed Congress workers, particularly women” who could be groomed as potential candidates for the upcoming local body elections and next year’s assembly polls.

Bosses seek action plan

The high command has also asked the Kerala leadership to draw up a “detailed action plan” of programmes for strengthening the organisation and for public outreach ahead of next year’s polls. Sudhakaran has also been told that any vacancies in the party, from the booth to the PCC level, must be filled up at the earliest.

The party will organise a “state conference” of all ward presidents next month, after the conclusion of the two-day AICC session in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on April 9, which will be addressed by Kharge, Rahul, and Priyanka. The conference, Dasmunsi told reporters, will be the “starting boost” for workers of the Kerala unit in the run-up to the assembly polls.

Also read: Not switching party, says Shashi Tharoor as he faces heat for lauding PM Modi, Kerala govt

Warning to leaders

The hard talk by the central leadership during the meeting was also reflected in Dasmunsi’s briefing to the media about the deliberations.

“We will take strong action” against party leaders going to the media with “personal views”, Dasmunsi told reporters as Tharoor stood beside her visibly trying to keep a straight face.

The Congress’s Kerala in-charge, however, told The Federal later that her statement “should not be seen as against Shashi Tharoor” as “it is a warning for all leaders of the party... they all have to follow”.

Collective decisions

Emphasising the message of unity, Venugopal, too, told reporters that “the high command has asked all leaders to stay united... all decisions will be taken collectively” and that the “only agenda for the next one year is to bring down the anti-people government in Kerala”.

“No leader should give interviews, offering views contradicting the party’s stand; the high command will closely watch these things,” Venugopal added.